


Changes in Routine

by Toringo



Category: HLVRAI - Fandom, Half Life VR But The AI Is Self-Aware
Genre: Alien Benrey, Benrey Is Not Human, Benrey is a morning person, Benrey is actually weirdly responsible, Bubby gives Gordon relationship advice, Bubby is so done, Cuddling & Snuggling, Dirty Thoughts kinda, Domestic Fluff, First Kiss, Fluff, Getting Together, Gordon has to deal with it, Idiots in Love, Kinda, Kissing, Mutual Pining, Nonbinary Benrey (Half-Life), Other, Post-Canon, Probably ooc, Slight possessive behavior, They/Themrey, Tommy and Coomer are mentioned
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-21
Updated: 2020-09-21
Packaged: 2021-03-08 02:13:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,871
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26587930
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Toringo/pseuds/Toringo
Summary: The scientist was usually still asleep by the time they left for work - because apparently, they got one quickly after losing their first position - and would wake up to an empty bed and the unexplainable feeling of emptiness deep in his chest - one that he would rather not address. Ever.So that’s how it usually went: Gordon would open his eyes, try to sleep some more, cry a little, and maybe stare up at the ceiling for half an hour if he felt particularly crazy that day. Then he would cry some more and blame it on his roommate that, of course, wasn’t there.
Relationships: Benrey/Gordon Freeman, Bubby & Gordon Freeman
Comments: 10
Kudos: 218





	Changes in Routine

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Charlie_fell](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Charlie_fell/gifts).



Gordon was never the one to wake up early in the morning. Sure, he kept on schedule (barely) when he had to, but given the opportunity, he would spend a few more hours than necessary in the warm comfort of his bed. And what opportunity he's got!   
  


After Black Mesa, taking any job seemed like a nightmare, he couldn’t do it - it was just… it was too much for him. He needed some well-earned peace, and surprisingly his wish came true, alongside a big amount of hush money. He could finally relax and bury himself in a soft blanket and, well, maybe sleep for a week or two-  
  


Then Benrey came back from the dead and decided to continue tormenting Gordon with their presence. But half a year passed since then and the man decided that he really couldn’t complain. The alien was a weirdly enjoyable company when they weren’t trying to, y’know, kill him and stuff. They were still rude and annoying as hell but at the same time they were, and Gordon couldn’t believe he had to admit that, responsible?   
  


Benrey often procrastinated their duties, often forgot about smaller things, but by the end of the day, their chores were all done. The security guard didn’t really need to sleep (but would still cuddle into Gordon’s side when he went to bed, only not to mention it the next day) but when they did they would wake up early, like an obnoxious morning person they were. 

The scientist was usually still asleep by the time they left for work - because apparently, they got one quickly after losing their first position - and would wake up to an empty bed and the unexplainable feeling of emptiness deep in his chest - one that he would rather not address. Ever. 

So that’s how it usually went: Gordon would open his eyes, try to sleep some more, cry a little, and maybe stare up at the ceiling for half an hour if he felt particularly crazy that day. Then he would cry some more and blame it on his roommate that, of course, wasn’t there. 

Maybe he needed to find a job too. It was getting lonely, waiting a few hours for the guy that tried to un-alive him to come back home. Since when was he so pathetic? Getting all beaten up over the fact that his _friend_ managed to be a respectable member of society, gee. 

He really hated the fact that he was _bitter_ that Benrey couldn’t just stay a bit longer. It was much easier and much less confusing sometime back when they would just lazily stretch over his couch and play mindless video games. Gordon could at least _pretend_ to have a reason to complain about them, starting another long argument that he knew they both were enjoying way too much. 

Okay, so. He had to admit he missed having them around 24/7. He missed it a lot actually, and it was infuriating. He wanted to wake up to the sight of their face and pull them closer and never let go. And if they had to go he could, perhaps, hug them goodbye, or fix their tie. They looked so _good_ in a tie. Well, they looked great in everything, which was unfair, but their work uniform? Damn it did things to him-

Gordon had to hide his face in his sweaty palms. God, he was in too deep. The physicist's cheeks burned with the realization. 

“I can’t believe I’ve fallen for this dumbass,” he whined. Really, he shouldn’t be that surprised. Life had its way of fucking with him, now it decided to make him all mushy over the most frustrating person he’s ever met. Great. 

Gordon turned his face towards the clock. It was afternoon already? He stayed in bed for much longer than he usually did.

Shameful satisfaction boiled in his belly at the thought of seeing Benrey real soon. That's it, he needed to distract himself. And it was almost dinner time, some kitchen work wasn't a half-bad idea.

\---

So, Benrey was late. It's not to say that they had to come back at a specific hour, but they _usually_ did. After their shift, they would go straight home. But not this time. 

Gordon sat by the kitchen table, tapping his foot impatiently - the food was probably cold already. He sighed, why did he even bother to wait for them with eating? He was acting like a housewife, not a chill roommate, but honestly, he didn't care. The scientist knew he should get Benrey some phone, now he couldn't even contact them. 

Whatever. They would be there soon, probably. Gordon looked at his plate with a sigh. He wasn't really hungry, to be honest, and now the quick meal he's prepared seemed even more unappealing. With that he stood up, ready to put it in the fridge. The front door opened and Gordon sat back down, for some goddamn reason. 

A little flustered, he let himself sneak a peek at the alien entering the room.

"Yo," they greeted. Gordon hummed in acknowledgment and tried not to stare as the security guard sprawled across the chair on the opposite side of the table. They were still wearing their uniform and jacket, but the tie was hanging loose from around their neck, their collar was open. Gordon was suddenly very aware of the presence of his tongue in his mouth, he quickly averted his eyes from the eldritch being. 

"Ohhh, you've made some mac 'n cheese. Nice." They said as if they were completely unaware of the awkward tension present between them. Knowing them, they probably weren't aware, getting social cues wasn't their thing. It would be almost cute if it didn't make Gordon even more anxious.

"Um, yeah." He answered after a long pause. Maybe he shouldn't say anything at all. They were already eating, ignoring the fact that the dish was stone cold. "You're…" what did he even want to say? "You're late." 

_Damn, way to spoil already stale mood, Freeman_.

"Whuh-huh." Benrey chewed sloppily as they spoke. "Caught into traffic." At least that's what the scientist understood from their speech. Either way, for some reason, this gave him some form of relief. 

Of course, there wouldn't be anything wrong with Benrey having fun without him- or without telling him - but something ugly in his guts calmed down a little when it turned out that was not the case. He… he probably needed to work on that later.

"Oh, that sucks," he tried to make it sound sympathetic but there was still some happy note in that statement. "You know I could heat this up a little?" He pointed at their plate. 

"Nah, it's cool as it is." He wasn't sure if that was supposed to be a pun, but his lips curled up at the praise. He watched them devour the pasta, leaning on his hand. Eventually, they stopped to look up at him.

"What's with you today, Feetman?" They frowned, looking almost concerned- or was he overthinking it? - for him.

"What's with me?" 

"You're acting weird, bro. All floaty and shit." What did that even mean? 

"What? I am not!" Benrey gave him a pointedly unimpressed look. They shifted a little, putting their now empty plate away. 

"You're, uh, taking too long to answer," they smirked. "And you've been _staring_ ." Shit, was he _that_ obvious?

"You must be seeing things, I wasn't 'staring' at all!" He defended himself, trying to look everywhere but at the alien.

"Uh-huh." Their words dripped with sarcasm. "Sure thing. You were only watching me eat for like" they seemed to count on their fingers "six minutes straight. Not starting at all, Feetman." 

They were so _smug_ about it. Oh, he wanted to kiss that stupid expression right off their face. He bit the inside of his cheek desperately trying not to think of other expressions he would _love to_ see on them. 

"I just got distracted!" 

"Oh? Am I that 'distracting' to you then?" They teased but he's noticed a tint of pink on their neck. Were they just as embarrassed as he was? No, impossible. If they were they would leave him to his pining. But it was _Benrey._ Of course, they would take any chance to make a joke on his behalf. 

"You're insufferable." He groaned, finally standing up. Hopefully, if he started washing the dishes they wouldn't see how it affected him. They didn't answer so he counted it as a win. 

He couldn't hear their footsteps over the running water, but after a bit, he could feel the paw on his shoulder. 

"Thanks for dinner." They said just before leaving the room.

That night Gordon couldn't sleep, not with their presence so apparent by his side, and not with the thought that their fingers had lingered on his shoulder for longer than necessary. 

\---

It seemed that the best way to spend more time with his busy roommate was changing his own habits. It was awful and he hated it, but it's not like he could sleep anyway. So next morning Gordon left the bed before Benrey did.

His eyelids were heavy and he almost drifted out when going to the kitchen, but stabbing his toe on the table leg was enough to wake him up good. And his hushed cursing didn't even wake the alien up so that was a plus!

Gordon felt weirdly warm as he prepared breakfast for them. Yes, he always enjoyed cooking for others, but it never left him feeling really happy and all the mushy shit. Maybe it was because Benrey was a really picky eater but shamelessly devoured anything Gordon would give them. It was… it was certainly something he could appreciate. It was flattering and maybe, just maybe, he needed some lo-- some _positive attention_ too.

The scientist hummed to himself contently as he continued with his task. What was their morning routine even like? Did they eat? He doubted that. Maybe they played some games before work, or-- 

He's heard the shower running from the floor above. Apparently, that's what they did. Gordon knew they didn't really need to, but he suspected that they enjoyed more mundane human behaviors. 

Tommy told him some things about their life in Black Mesa, Bubby and Coomer spilled some facts too. Gordon preferred not to think about it. It made him feel sick and slightly angry. At least he wouldn't feel guilty about all the scientists they've killed on their way out. 

He was packing the food into some generic lunchbox he found deep in his cupboard when the water finally went silent, and just after that Benrey stepped into the kitchen.

"Mornin'..." they smacked their lips a few times and sniffed the air. "You're up." They stated blandly, sitting down. They sounded a little curious but fidgeted as he looked at them lazily.

"Yeah," he yawned in response. "Couldn't sleep, so I made this." Benrey blinked, looked down at the lunchbox, and _smiled_. Honest to God smiled!

It probably shouldn't feel as triumphant as it did but their _real_ smile was honestly such a nice change from the usual snarky one. Although the snarky one had its own charm, but Gordon was getting distracted--

The point was, the morning was going great.

"Yo, thanks, bro. It's very, eh, cash money of you." Gordon snorted.

"Don't mention it" He wiped the sleepiness from his eyes. "Tea?" Benrey only shook their head.

"I can, maybe, y'know. Calm you down a little, give you a bit of blue. Could sleep better." They murmured instead. The scientist looked at them, they seemed almost flustered. It was cute that they offered him help. They were cute. Gordon couldn't help but grin goofily.

"What? You care or something?" He asked half-jokingly. Some pastel-colored Sweet Voice escaped their mouth. What did Tommy say about it? Ah, green to baby blue means I care for you. The man chuckled at their apparent distress. 

"Don't worry, I care for you too." He admitted pouring himself a cup of tea. 

"Shut up, Feetman," they whined without real spite to it. "It's totally cool 'n stuff, to help a bro in need." 

"Oh, but I never said otherwise." They chewed on their tie as he said that. "Hey, don't do that. You will tear it." Their teeth were so damn sharp, they could leave some nasty marks. Gordon coughed in his fist, trying not to think about the implications. 

"Uh, doesn't matter. Have... few other, these, um... fabric straps."

"Ties."

"Yeah, that too."

"Still, you shouldn't ruin this one." Gordon took another long sip.

"Why?" They asked, appearing genuinely confused. 

"It looks good on you." He said observing their reactions. 

The weird shadow on their face seemed to cover it a little more than a second before, and their neck flared as they puffed out their already chubby cheeks, undoubtedly trying to hold the Sweet Voice in. He never saw them so flustered, it was endearing and made him want to compliment them some more. 

"Gay." Benrey sounded as deadpan as usual but it did nothing to hide their state. Gordon laughed, and the alien banged their head on the table. Gordon laughed louder. 

"You're one to talk." He commented, amused. 

"Gordon Gayman." 

'Gayman' rolled his eyes.

"Creative." They answered with a high pitched noise that probably should serve as a warning but made Gordon enjoy this morning even more. "You sound like an angry squirrel." They snarled, back in Black Mesa he would be a little worried, but now… "you look the part too." 

It was way too satisfying to annoy them like that. Was that what they felt when they teased him? That was a weird possibility, but now as he thought about it…

"Warning: I can bite, too." Wait, what? That pulled him away from his thoughts. What were they- oh, squirrels, right. Squirrels bite. Of course, that's what they meant. 

"Is that a promise?" Slipped off his tongue. Fuck. "I mean-" he was fully ready to defend himself but he was stopped by the alarm going off.

"Uh oh, time to go." Benrey rose to their feet. Automatically, Gordon did too. Also automatically he walked to them. They both stood there awkwardly for a moment, the alarm still sounding in the background. The scientist had no idea _why_ he approached them and judging by their expression, they were equally put off by that. 

The security guard looked up at him with their big eyes and he really couldn't look away. He needed an excuse, but fortunately, he was always a quick thinker. He quickly swapped his attention to their neck.

"Your tie… uh, you tied it wrong." Well, not exactly. More like tied it right and then fiddled with it enough to make it look like a complete mess. Either way, Gordon's hands quickly found their way to the accessory. Benrey stood there, dumbfounded, as he helped them to dress up. 

Honestly, it was much more intimate than either of them could ever expect. 

Gordon breathed in as his left palm brushed their throat. It was so warm, which was weird since their skin always seemed ice cold. 

Even after Gordon tied it, he kept his hands around the fabric. They were so damn close. Really, it would be so easy to just lean down and steal a kiss. He was tempted to do so, especially when one of their paws rested on his hip and another rose to his face, cupping his chin carefully. 

Was this really happening? Gordon's heart was beating so fast in his chest, and his face was - without a doubt- darkened with a blush. He didn't protest as he was pulled down by the eldritch creature and he didn't protest as their lips pressed into his just for a second. It was short and sweet and it made his heart explode with emotion.

"I… we-" Benrey pulled back and scratched at their jaw nervously. "See you later, Gordon." They grabbed the lunchbox he had prepared for them and rushed out of the kitchen. Leaving him standing there, grinning like an utter moron.

\---

Ever since that little incident, Gordon started waking up early, usually alongside Benrey. They would both stay in the bed just a little longer, neglecting all personal space boundaries and just enjoying each other's company, as outlandish as this statement was. 

There were no real arguments in the mornings, just friendly banter and amounts of domestic bliss Gordon was almost overwhelmed with. He suspected Benrey was even more influenced by all that fuzziness but they leaned into the pleasant warmth of it as much as they could. 

Continuing, when they finally did crawl out of bed Gordon would proceed with his typical chores - they started to grow on him, as a weird kind of comfort activity - and Benrey would get ready to work. They never really stepped in each other’s way but after some time Benrey started just… speedrunning what they were doing. Almost like they wanted to spend more time in Gordon’s company too. Well, that wasn’t really a surprise all things considered, but it still made the scientist very happy. 

They both fell into some weird maybe/maybe not situation in which Gordon wasn’t sure if a committed relationship was even an option. Would Benrey even want that? Sure, more-than-friendly flirting and signs of physical affection became normality between them but was it even romantic on both ends? The physicist wouldn’t mind it being just a very… peculiar friendship, but the sole fact that he wasn’t sure was just killing him. But that was partially on him - Benrey took the first step, Gordon should take the second one. Why was it that hard then? 

They never properly kissed, to be honest, but would that be so hard? He just had to ask and, well, do it. He wanted to do it. But if Benrey refused, Gordon didn’t know how he would take it. He was fine with friendship, _he was_ , what he feared was the possibility of that refusal creating a rift between them. They acted like they were genuinely interested in him but what if they _weren’t_? Gordon groaned - he was probably overthinking, per usual. 

“Gordon, I’ll be honest with you - you’re overthinking. Per usual.” Bubby sounded even more irritated than he typically did. Fair, Gordon _was_ talking about his love problems quite a lot lately. “I also have no fucking idea why you’re telling _me_ all of this shit, of all people.” He scoffed. “I don’t give a flying fuck.”

“Yeah! That’s exactly the reason!” Gordon threw his hands up. “You are- You are impartial in all of this! And you know Benrey well enough!” 

“So does Tommy. Go bother him about it.” The older man took a sip of something that smelled like a boiled Gatorade, the physicist shivered, gross. 

“Tommy… uh… I think he is doing the same thing for Benrey.” He admitted, fidgeting slightly. Bubby sent him an unimpressed look, or at least that what it looked like considering Gordon couldn’t see his eyes. 

“So you’re telling me” he slurped his disgusting drink, “that you are aware that Benrey does exactly the same shit you're doing.” He set the cup on the table, just a little bit too forcefully. “ And instead of talking to them like a responsible adult, you go and fucking complain to me?” Okay, that made him feel a more than a little dumb. 

“Uh… yeah?”

“You wanted my advice? Here’s a fucking advice for you!” Bubby suddenly stood up and took his and Gordon’s cups away. The younger man almost managed to tell him that he was still drinking, but - wisely - decided to keep his mouth shut and listen. “Tell him how you feel and quit with the whole tip-damn-toeing around each other! You’re drooling over one another for the longest time. It’s fucking annoying.”

“I-”

“Oh and. I am not your damn therapist, if you’re going to come here and babble about your personal shit, at least call ahead. I am busy.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.” It was also wise of Gordon not to mention the fact that Bubby and Coomer constantly showed up on his doorstep with no warning. “Thanks for… for the talk, I needed that, Bubby.” 

The old man’s face seemed to soften, just the tiniest bit. 

“Just don’t make a habit out of it. I have work to do unlike _some people_ , get the fuck out of my house, Gordon.” He snorted at that, and with a smirk, he headed to the door. 

“Say hello to Dr. Coomer for me!”

“I’d rather not.” Gordon laughed some more as he left the building. 

\---

“Yo, Gordo,” the scientist didn’t look up from his phone, not reacting at all to the alien’s words.

“Goooordos.” Nope - it wasn’t that easy to provoke him, he’d like to believe. Two can play this game and he wasn’t about to lose, this time around.

“Feetman!” Something poked at his tight, but he tried his hardest not to answer, even if corners of his lips did rise a little, showing his amusement. 

“Freeman, hey, Freeman.” And just like that, something crawled on his lap, not completely uninvited, but very frustrating.

“Uh, Talk to me,” It probably translated to ‘pay attention to me’ which was, truth be told, quite endearing. He thought it was quite simple to figure out what he had wanted, and soon enough, in an uncertain voice, Benrey asked:

“Um, Gordon?” 

He finally put down the phone - he wasn’t using anyway - and looked at his roommate, whose face laid on his legs. 

“Huh? You were saying something?” He smirked as they grumbled something in clear annoyance. After that, they silenced themselves as if trying to think of an answer. 

“Kisses?” They finally said. “Kisses for your good pal Benny?”

“Hmm, let me think about it.” Gordon rubbed at his beard, trying not to laugh as they whined needily, clawing at his sweats. 

“Please? Pretty please? One smooch, completely no homo?” At this, he snorted. It wasn’t even that funny, but their impatient expression and voice got him weirdly charmed. 

Gordon leaned down and pecked them on the nose, getting a pleased smile from them as a reward. They looked so damn proud of themselves just for getting one small smooch, he loved them. Wait, he loved them? That realization was quite inconvenient considering they were… so close now. 

“Oh, nice.” They purred contently. “Gimme one more tho? Just to make sure they’re quality stuff, y’know?”

Sure, Gordon already knew he had feelings for the security guard, but love? Honest one? Nor just a little unimportant crush? His first instinct was to push it to the back of his mind and never consider it again, but he couldn’t quite force himself to. 

Maybe he just wasn’t ready to tell them that, yet, but… God, if it wasn’t the truth, he didn’t know what was. And how could he just ignore the feeling when there still was a chance that they, perhaps, felt the same thing towards him? True, they weren’t human but he did not doubt that they could feel absolutely everything he did, of that he could be certain.

“-Earth to Feetman. Is anyone there?” He blinked, realizing Benrey was talking to him. And waving their clawed paw in front of his face. Gordon coughed in his hand trying to hide his growing embarrassment.

“Yeah- Gordon’s fine! Don’t… don’t worry about me. I just spaced out a bit.”

“Oh, so it’s fine when _you_ do that.” The alien teased and if he was more immature he would stick out his tongue at them, instead, he only pinched their cheek causing them to bombard his face with Sweet Voice tasting of mild irritation. 

He let go, and they rubbed at their face, throwing him a passive-aggressive glance. “Don’t, you’re so mean, bro!” They mumbled but quickly forgave him for this after he kissed the sore place. And just maybe the other cheek too, and lips. Maybe he kissed their whole face, who could blame him? 

They looked up at him as he leaned back, relaxing against the couch. The only signs of them being as awestruck as he was from all the attention were their blown pupils and slight coloring under their chin. They shuffled a little closer to him, hiding their face in his shirt with a little pleased noise. Gordon put his left hand on their head and closed his eyes. He wondered…

“Benrey?” 

“Yeah? What’s- what’cha thinking about? Spill all the spicy details, don’t worry, I won’t tell everyone.” 

“It’s ‘I won’t tell anyone’, Benrey.” He corrected raising an eyebrow at them. 

“Uh, Nah. I’m pretty sure I got it right.” He could feel the smugness resonating from them, and could only laugh in response, and shove their face away. 

“Asshole.” They suddenly sat up and he was almost worried that they took the insult personally, but it was clearly not the reason as they straddled on his lap basically pinning him to the backrest of the sofa. Their paw quickly grabbed at his chin and the alien neared their face to his. Gordon swallowed when they passed by his lips and bit at his ear instead. His breath hitched when they said:

“Twerp,” they whispered and he almost choked at the seriousness of their voice. 

“Holy shit,” he giggled uncontrollably. “Really Benrey? ‘Twerp’? It doesn’t even fit. Work on your insults, man!” They grinned and bumped their forehead against his as he laughed,

“Eh, why should I? Makes you laugh ‘n stuff so it’s all good.” They drawled, wiping the happy tears from his cheeks.

“You’re such a sap.” Gordon put his chin on their shoulder, pulling them as close to himself as he could. “Who’d think you actually cared about making me laugh and not just annoying the hell out of me?” 

“Oh, don’t worry - that’s just a-” they stopped for a bit. most likely forgetting what they wanted to say. “Uh-”

“That’s just a?” The physicist repeated.

“It’s- Oh! Yeah… it’s just a bonus. Sweet deal if you ask me.” Gordon smiled into their shoulder as they rambled.

“Fair enough. Still would prefer if you didn’t annoy me in the process.”

“Then it wouldn’t be nearly as funny, bro. Need to deal with some side shit to get the-the ultimate mega top score.” They continued to spat their nonsense, and Gordon could only look at them skeptically and say:

“Bullshit, you just like seeing me annoyed.” He hadn’t had it in himself to be angry at them when they pulled him into a quick kiss.

“Well, there must be something in it for me, too.” Again, how could he fall for such an infuriating brat? It must’ve been some curse if he loved them more and more with each stupid line like this. “Oh and… didn’t you want to say something?” 

What? Oh, yes. He wanted to. It was sweet that they remembered, considering their awful memory. It made him feel special, and wasn’t that something? 

“Yeah, I- I wanted to ask one thing?” He spoke with uncertainty. 

“‘m all ears” they tried to emphasize that, by putting their paws behind their pointy ears.

“What… what even…” Gordon took a deep breath, “what are we?” He could tell by looking at them that they didn’t quite understand what he was saying. Gordon sighed and tried to explain this further: “are we like… friends, or lo-” the man blushed heavily but managed to swallow down his embarrassment and finish the sentence. “Are we lovers? Or what?” 

At this point, he expected every possible answer - from them laughing him off to them accepting his feelings or even completely misunderstanding what he was saying. Instead, they just tilted their head with a quiet hum. 

“Both?” Benrey finally responded. “Like, aren’t we?” And what did they expect Gordon to say at that? In one and a half sentences they reduced him to a sputtering mess. Worse - his distress amused them, as always. They patted his back while he tried to find a fitting answer - any answer, really! “What, Feetman? You expected your good _friend_ to give you a-an ice shoulder?”

“It’s ‘cold shoulder’, Ben.” He was on the verge of sobbing. He was head over heels for this dumbass and now it turns out they weren’t just playing around? They were into him too? It was a good day for Gordon Freeman. 

“Whatever. So, uh. You have a Lil gay crush on your pal? Little gay Feetman? Homo for your roommate, like some shit romcom main loser?” Okay, no, it was the worst day of his life. 

“Benrey, please, I’m dying here.” Gordon nearly choked through his furious laughter.

“Uh, wait, don’t die yet.” The alien looked away and mumbled something unintelligible. 

“Run that again by me?” Gordon breathed out and they let out a little, frustrated huff. 

“It’s maybe, a bit possible… that I am homo for you too, Actually it’s confirmed, one hundred percent and all.” They flapped their paws a bit, trying to highlight their seriousness, not the best way to do so - but point taken. 

“Oh, that’s…” The physicist tried to make sense of his thoughts. “That was the worst confession I’ve ever heard.” 

Benrey snorted. “Wanna kiss about it?” 

Gordon looked at them for a moment before letting his hands rest on their shoulders. 

“Sure, why the fuck not?” And just like that, they were all over him. That was better for both, no talking about emotions and things alike, just pure action. There was no need to keep the lovin’ for later.

\---

“Hey, Benrey!” It was almost time for them to leave, both of them, and while Gordon, weirdly enough, was ready to go, Benrey - what’s even weirder - was not. “If you don’t move your ass we’re gonna be late, buddy!” 

“Yeah, gimme a minute!” Came from the kitchen, Gordon sighed impatiently, hands crossed on his chest. 

“We don’t have time!”

“Uh, almost done in here!” The physician lost the last of his patience and decided to head to the kitchen. 

“I swear, Benrey. If you destroyed the microwave _again_ I will-” he knew exactly what he wanted to say, but when he entered the kitchen he had to swallow his words and instead of them say: “what is this?” He pointed at the opened lunchbox showing some disgusting goo emitting even more unpleasant stench. Either way, his partner beamed at the question, well, as much as they really could considering their rather limited expression range. 

“Uh, glad you askin’ bro!” They closed the box and handed it to him. “It’s, uh, you’re always making me food and stuff. Even tho I don’t really need that. And today’s important for you, so I kinda thought…”

“You made it for me?” Gordon blinked down at the lunchbox in his hands. He wasn’t that surprised, but even though he would never eat the thing inside the box - he was pretty sure whatever it was wasn’t edible - it was still such a sweet gesture. He leaned down and kissed his themfriend’s cheek. 

“Thanks,” he said and they huffed in response.

“Don’t mention it. I didn’t even, like, try or anything.” Oh, they definitely did, he had to teach them how to cook if they wanted to do it more often. 

“Sure, thanks anyways.” They couldn’t hide their little, pleased smile from him.

“Stop being a sap and let’s go already, Feetman. You said we’ll be late.”

“Well, I will be, you could teleport.” He pointed out.

“Don’t be stupid, I wouldn’t do that and leave your stupid ass late for an interview.” 

“Interview,” he automatically corrected. “It’s still bullshit you can’t teleport anyone with yourself.” 

“That would be way too OP.” They both left the house and walked to the car, Benrey opened the door for him.

“Benrey, you’re OP overall, what would that change?” Gordon raised an eyebrow at the alien, slipping inside of the car. Said alien swiftly followed on the other side. 

“I could teleport you into space. Have you freeze there or explode, or something.” Gordon laughed.

“Benrey, humans don’t ‘explode’ or ‘freeze’ in space. It’s a science-fiction myth. I mean, technically it is possible to freeze in space, but before that, you would be already long dead.” They looked at him trying to decide if he was joking or not, finally deciding he was telling the truth; they looked almost betrayed by that. 

“So the shitty space horrors has been lying to me? All this time? That’s so uncool, what the hell.” The eldritch creature pouted and, God, they were such a dork for someone so powerful. 

“How the fuck did you not know that, man? You literally lived in space, kinda.” For some time, at least.

“Well, I didn't exactly see any humans there!” Okay, fair point. It took a while for Gordon to explain to them what exactly happened to the human body in a void with no oxygen and with all the radiation stuff, but the ride was long anyway, so at least they weren’t wasting it. 

The conversation then moved to another topic and then another. It was a good thing - helped to calm Gordon’s nerves, but when they reached Benrey’s workplace all the tension returned to him. He stopped the car, but his hands were clenched tightly on the wheel the moment they opened the door. 

“Uh, hey so, I’ll be going now.” The alien stated awkwardly, turning to face him. “Good luck with getting the job.” His hands relaxed when they put their gloved paw on them and leaned to quickly peck him on the nose. “Relax, it’ll be fine.”

Gordon sighed and closed his eyes. 

“You think so?”

“Of course I do, I know you, dude - ya gonna kill this lame interview.” Somehow, it made him feel much more sure of himself. “And if you don’t get in, it only means they’re shitty anyway.” They squeezed his palm comfortingly and he had to smile.

“I love you,” he answered and maybe it wasn’t the most romantic situation, but the words rolled off his tongue naturally even if it was the first time in years since he said it with such honesty. Soft melody left Benrey’s mouth as they responded with well-known shades of the sweet voice and pressed theirs into his once again. 

He didn’t complain when they tightened up his tie and patted his shoulder, even if it was quite disappointing to see them slip out of the car soon after.

“See you later!” Gordon called after them and they responded in kind. 

He started the car as they disappeared inside the building. Few minutes after that his lips were still stretched in a smile and his cheeks were warm with a blush. Then from the corner of his eye, he saw something sitting on the seat beside him and he couldn’t help but snort, they left their ID in the car. 

Gordon's decided it was a good day, and even if he wouldn’t get the job - he got something better: a loving partner and material to tease them for the nearest future. What else could a man want? 


End file.
